DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

DIRECTORATE: RADIATION CONTROL

GUIDELINES

DESIGN OF X-RAY ROOMS

NOTE: Shielding thickness could be decreased by an increase in distance

and/or a decrease in work load

1. General/Fluoroscopy Rooms

1.1 Room size

1.1.1 General radiographic rooms should be approximately 16 m2. There

should be sufficient space for a permanently built protective cubicle.

1.1.2 Fluoroscopic rooms should be approximately 25 m2.

1.1.3 Special procedure rooms should be considered individually.

1.2. Doors and Walls

1.2.1 Access doors should be of the sliding type giving better radiation
protection.

1.2.2 A clearing of 1.5 m is recommended. The overlap should be 100 mm

each side.

1.2.3 The doors should be lined with leadsheet of 2 mm thickness.

1.2.4 The walls should be 230 mm kiln baked solid clay brick or 2 mm
leadsheet sandwiched between partitioning or 115 mm brick with 6
mm barium plaster.

1.2.4.1 Lead equivalence:

Thickness of Lead equivalence (in mm) at tube

material voltage
Material (in mm) 100 kV 150 kV

brick 115 1.0 0.9

brick 230 2.4 2.0
barium 6 1.0 0.55
plaster
barium 11 1.0
plaster

Revision Oct/2009
 Revision Oct/2009 2

1.2.4.2 Barium plaster mix:

1 part coarse barium sulphate
1 part fine barium sulphate
1 part cement

1.2.5 Walls should be protected up to a height of 2.2 meter.

1.3 Ceiling and floors

1.3.1 X-ray rooms should preferably be sited on the ground floor of a

building.

1.3.2 If the x-ray room is above ground level the solid concrete slab of
density 2.35 g/cm3 must be of 150 mm thickness.

1.3.3 Thickness of ceiling slabs, if space above is occupied, should not be

less than 100 mm.

1.3.4 Single storey buildings do not require a ceiling slab.

1.4 Windows and air conditioning units

1.4.1 Windows and air conditioning units should be sited at least 2 m above
the floor. Alternatively access near the window must be prevented
effectively.

1.4.2 Windows of upper floor x-ray rooms can be of normal height.

1.5 Protective cubicle

1.5.1 A protective cubicle allowing space for the control as well as the
operator should be constructed in the x-ray room.

1.5.2 The cubicle should be located such that unattenuated direct scatter
radiation originating on the examination table or the erect bucky do not
reach the operator in the cubicle.

1.5.3 The x-ray control for the system should be fixed within the cubicle and
should be at least 1.02 m from any open edge of the cubicle wall
which is nearest to the examination table.

1.5.4 The cubicle should have at least one viewing window which will be so
placed that the operator can view the patient during any exposure.

1.5.5 The size of the window should be at least 30 cm x 30 cm.

1.5.6 The minimum height of the cubicle is 2.2 meter.

1.5.7 The lead equivalence of the wall or panel as well as the protective
glass should be at 2 mm, i.e., 230 mm brick or 115 mm brick barium
plastered (6 mm) or 2 mm leadsheet.

C:\Documents and Settings\swartg\My Documents\webdocs\General guidelines with regard to the 2

design of x-ray rooms.doc June 2005
 Revision Oct/2009 3

1.5.8 The lead glass and protective material must overlap each other by at
least 25 mm.

1.6 Change cubicles

1.6.1 Should the change cubicles lead into the x-ray room the doors must be
lined with at least 1.5 mm leadsheet.

1.6.2 Access doors into the x-ray room must be lockable from the x-ray
room side to prevent entrance during radiation exposures.

1.7 Radiation warning notices / lights

1.7.1 Warning lights are required at the entrances to fluoroscopy rooms.

The light must be connected to the generator in such a way that it will
illuminate only during activation of the tube.

1.7.2 A radiation warning notice must be displayed at all entrances to x-ray

rooms.

2. Special procedure rooms

General guidelines for special procedure rooms:

2.1 Computed tomography

Doors - lined with 1.6mm leadsheet

Walls - The walls should be 230 mm kiln baked solid clay brick or 1.6 mm
leadsheet sandwiched between partitioning or 115 mm brick with 4 mm
barium plaster.
Protective glass –1.5 mm lead glass(90 mm plate glass).
Warning lights are required outside all entrances to CT rooms. The light
must be connected to the generator in such a way that it will illuminate only
during activation of the tube.

2.2 CATH LAB

Doors - lined with 2 mm leadsheet

Walls - The walls should be 230 mm kiln baked solid clay brick or 2 mm
leadsheet sandwiched between partitioning or 115 mm brick with 6 mm
barium plaster.
Protective glass - The lead equivalence of the viewing window must be at
least 1 mm of lead.
Warning lights are required outside all direct entrances to Cath labs. The
light must be connected to the generator in such a way that it will illuminate
only during activation of the tube.

2.3 PAN/CEPH Dental Unit

Doors - lined with 1 mm leadsheet

Walls 115 mm brick or 1 mm leadsheet

2.4 Dental X-ray Unit

C:\Documents and Settings\swartg\My Documents\webdocs\General guidelines with regard to the 3

design of x-ray rooms.doc June 2005
 Revision Oct/2009 4

No special requirements. In case where partition walls are used, lead plate
with dimensions 1m x 1m and 1mm thick, should be attached to the wall.
The height of the plate should be 0.5m above the floor in order to fully
intercept radiation from the primary beam. This is required only in cases
where for example the waiting room is adjacent to the X-ray room with
patients sitting at distances less than ±3m from the tube head of the X-ray
unit.

2.5 Fixed C-arm (or mobile used as a fixed unit)

Doors - lined with 1 mm leadsheet

Walls - 115 mm brick or 1 mm leadsheet

2.6 Mammographic Unit

No requirements

3. Specific shielding requirements for radiographic installations can be determined

as set out in the attached table 5 of NCRP 49.

----------------- ooOOoo -----------------

C:\Documents and Settings\swartg\My Documents\webdocs\General guidelines with regard to the 4

design of x-ray rooms.doc June 2005
 Revision Oct/2009 5

C:\Documents and Settings\swartg\My Documents\webdocs\General guidelines with regard to the 5

design of x-ray rooms.doc June 2005
 Revision Oct/2009 6

THE DESIGH OF SHIELDING WINDOWS USING LEAD GLASS. LEAD

ACRYLIC AND PLATE GLASS

C:\Documents and Settings\swartg\My Documents\webdocs\General guidelines with regard to the 6

design of x-ray rooms.doc June 2005